1. Technical Field
The present subject matter relates to lighting apparatus, especially lighting fixtures and light bulbs. It further relates to the ability to monitor room noise through a home network.
2. Description of Related Art
In the past, most lighting systems used incandescent or florescent light bulbs for illumination. As light emitting diode (LED) technology improves, it is being used more and more for general illumination purposes. In many cases, LED based light bulbs are a direct replacement for a traditional incandescent or florescent light bulb and do not include any other functionality. In some cases, however, additional functionality is included with a lighting apparatus.
Light emitting diodes (LEDs) were originally developed to provide visible indicators and information displays. For such luminance applications, the LEDs emitted relatively low levels of light. However, in recent years, improved LEDs have become available that produce relatively high intensities of light output. These higher power LEDs, for example, have been used in arrays for traffic lights. Today, LEDs are available in almost any color in the color spectrum.
Providing home automation functionality using networking is well known in the art. Control of lighting and appliances can be accomplished using systems from many different companies such as X10, Insteon® and Echelon. Other devices have been marketed that include video cameras or speakers into a lighting apparatus.